College Readiness Assessment
Category: Pathways to and Through Postsecondary
Since 2018, institutions of higher education have been aware of the "enrollment cliff" which refers to expected declines in future enrollment. This paper attempts to describe how prepared institutions in Ohio are for this future by looking at trends leading up to the anticipated decline. Using IPEDS data from 2012-2022, we analyze trends in enrollment, revenues, debt and staffing across Ohio's nine largest public universities. We find significant variation in how institutions have evolved over this period. Our analysis suggests Ohio serves as an illustrative case study for examining institutional preparedness, as it represents a "worst-case scenario" across multiple dimensions - from projected enrollment declines to state funding constraints. The paper concludes by considering implications for higher education nationally and suggesting directions for future research on institutional responses to demographic shifts
Education level
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/hkw3-0n45
